Harvey Evans, actor, singer and dancer who had the gift of landing roles in original Broadway productions of classics such as "West side story", "Follies", "Hello, Dolly!"Y "Gypsy", has died. He was 80 years old.
Evans died on Christmas Eve at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, said Lawrence Leritz, a friend and Broadway actor, dancer, singer, producer and director. “The Broadway community loved him very much. Very friendly, hugging, funny and always had a smile on his face. I never remember not being hugged by this loving man, “Leritz said.
Evans was rarely cast in leading Broadway roles, but he found a place in timeless shows. He acted alongside Angela Lansbury in "Anyone Can Whistle" and played Barnaby in "Hello, Dolly!"opposite Carol Channing, then Betty Grable and then Eve Arden.
“When I look back,” Evans told Playbill in 2007, “I think I’ve had a kind of angel on my shoulder, leading me to the best shows of Broadway’s golden years. I didn’t pick them and choose them, they just came up that way ".
Evans, who was born Harvey Hohnecker, grew up in Cincinnati and fell in love with musical theater after watching a touring production of "Song of Norway". “I spent my entire childhood waiting to graduate from high school so I could go to New York and be in a Broadway show,” she told Playbill.
Evans came to New York in 1955 and befriended choreographers Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins. Evans’ first musical as a dancer on Broadway was "New Girl in Town"starring Gwen Verdon and choreographed by Fosse.
He changed his name while filming a small role in "Experiment in Terror" 1962, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Glenn Ford and Lee Remick. He and fellow actress Taffy Paul decided to remake themselves: he became Evans and she became Stefanie Powers.
Evans was also chosen by Fosse to "Redhead", with Verdon, and the movie "The Pajama Game". Other highlights were starring on Broadway with Henry Fonda and Margaret Hamilton in a revival of "Our Town" in 1969 and be an alternative to Jim Dale in "Barnum" in the early 1980s. He was a chimney sweep when Julie Andrews immortalized "Mary Poppins" in a movie in 1964.
"I have had my name on the title and I have had it very low"he told Playbill. “I do not mind. It is wonderful to be part of this community ".
His later Broadway credits include the mid-1990s revival of "Sunset boulevard", "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and as a substitute in "Oklahoma!"in 2002. He also got a cameo in the movie "Enchanted" with Amy Adams in 2007. She was on Broadway in the original version of "West side story" and later in the 1961 film version.
"It’s really hard to put into words what Harvey Evans meant to me"Tony Yazbeck said on Twitter. “It was goodness personified. So fun and supportive. He came to every show I did and inspired me to keep going! A true triple threat whose heart was as big as his incredible career ".
Bebe Neuwirth added: "One of the kindest, loveliest and loveliest gentlemen I have ever been blessed to meet". Betty Buckley also sent her regards: "With so much love".
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